Discovering Deals in Vancouver Real Estate Market

The numbers are in, and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that monthly home sales saw their biggest February ever this year. What does it mean? Is there any chance at all to buy a home in Vancouver, let alone one of the diminishing number of single-family properties?

One of the West Side deals in February was for 4453 West 14th Avenue, which attracted significant media attention because the asking price of $2,398,000 seemed outrageous for a tiny house – even though, as I told The Globe and Mail, the value lay in the land. It ultimately sold for close to $2.5 million, more than twice the benchmark price of $1.1 million for a Westside residential property in Vancouver.

With a strong start to 2016, and stiff competition ahead, where can buyers find opportunities?

Vancouver Westside Real Estate Sales

The majority of offerings below $1 million are townhouses and apartments, where land is a small component of the value. Apartments, for example, had a benchmark price last month of $624,800 – small wonder they represented the largest proportion of Vancouver Westside real estate sales in February.

Point Grey condos don’t attract the same attention as single-family houses, but they do exist. UBC real estate developments have, in recent years, incorporated a mix of housing types. UBC condos for sale provide one option for people who want to buy close to all that makes the area great; but there are also opportunities among the Dunbar and Kitsilano real estate listings.

Kitsilano Condos

Sale prices for Kitsilano condos in February started at $330,000, almost half the benchmark price for Vancouver Westside apartments that month. The median selling price was just $558,000 – indicating that a significant number of units were priced below the benchmark price. That’s a good thing for buyers, but owners also did well, as prices have increased over the past year.

It’s a similar story in Dunbar, where the condos that sold in February did so at prices starting from $463,000 – again, below the benchmark for Vancouver Westside homes.

While the market is active, opportunities still exist. It may take work to find them, but that’s where a buyer’s research and a knowledgeable realtor in Vancouver Westside make a winning combination!